The Carter Center will train fellows on effective mental health reporting and support them as they report on a mental health topic of their choice.
ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2023) — The Carter Center is pleased to announce that applications for journalists who are U.S. citizens and residents are now being accepted for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. Selected fellows will join a top-notch cohort of more than 250 fellows awarded over the past two decades.
The yearlong, nonresidential fellowships aim to equip journalists with resources to produce compelling and balanced reporting on mental health and substance use issues and to develop a diverse cohort of journalists who can effectively report on the topics across evolving and emerging platforms.
The application for the 2023-2024 Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism is available at Apply for a Fellowship (cartercenter.org). Applications must be completed and submitted online. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, April 7, 2023. Fellows will be announced July 13 on the Center's website. The 2023-2024 fellowship year begins in September 2023. See other important dates and deadlines.
“Too often we only hear about mental health in the news following a crisis or tragic event. Yet every day, millions of Americans living with these illnesses go to work, care for their children, and contribute to their communities,” said former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter. “They are valuable members of society, and their stories deserve to be told.”
Each U.S. fellow is awarded a $10,000 stipend, intensive training on behavioral health reporting, and networking opportunities with advisors and other fellows.
Fellows from across mediums pursue a range of innovative journalism projects that tackle some of society’s biggest behavioral health challenges and seek to drive change in their communities and help reduce stigma through storytelling.
Fellows are selected by a committee of current and former journalists, mental health experts, and the Fellowship Advisory Board, with an emphasis on diversity across ethnicity, geography, mediums, and the communities their fellowship projects will cover.
Shedding light on underreported issues and driving change
Fellows undertake timely projects that have a significant impact on their communities regarding mental health and substance use issues. In the past, projects have affected effected changes in services and public policies. Previous projects have investigated problems with psychiatric housing in hospitals that eventually led to a state Supreme Court ruling; inspired policymakers in a major American city to allocate millions of dollars to address homelessness; and exposed the complex and devastating mental health and substance use challenges faced by returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Fellowship projects have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. They also have earned Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and awards from the Association of Health Care Journalists, Public Radio News Directors Inc., the American Psychiatric Association, Mental Health America, and the National Alliance for Mental Illness.
The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism are part of the Carter Center's Mental Health Program, which works around the world to improve access to mental health care and reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses. The program is committed to providing journalists with the tools they need to report on behavioral health and distributes a Journalism Resource Guide on Behavioral Health (PDF) so journalists can accurately cover stories that include behavioral health. Fellows’ reporting is curated on @CarterFellows on Twitter.
For more details on how to apply, read and review our frequently asked questions. For additional inquiries not covered in the FAQs, please email [email protected].
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Contact: Rennie Sloan, [email protected].
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About The Carter Center
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
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